A Belfast man who supplied the deadly drug that killed a man has been jailed for 16 months.

Sean Paul Smedley (33), of Aspen Walk, Dunmurry, will serve a further 16 months on licence following his release.

Smedley had sold fentanyl patches to Rebecca Crockett (23), of Lower Braniel Road, east Belfast, and she had shared the drug with a 24-year-old man who died from an overdose.

Crockett was jailed for six months, with a further 18 months on licence after release.

Both pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court to having the lethal Class A drug with intent to supply.

A Crown prosecutor said police were called to a flat at Ross Mill Avenue in Belfast on the afternoon of July 31, 2014.

When officers arrived, they found the body of Hugh McCabe slumped on the sofa. Also found in the living room were pain-killing fentanyl patches.

A post mortem was conducted on Mr McCabe, with the cause of death determined as fentanyl toxicology, combined with other substances including Diazepam.

When police investigated, it emerged that Crockett had bought the patches from Smedley, and she and the deceased had scraped material from the patches which they smoked.

Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland described Smedley as a "commercial dealer" who had been prescribed the "powerful drug which is considered by some to be more dangerous than heroin" for serious injuries he suffered in a car accident in 2003.

He said fentanyl "if given to the wrong person can have very serious consequences and obviously in this case led to a death".